


Disputatio Quisquiliae

by Demerite



Category: Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: Ash Tyler Lurks, Crack Treated Seriously, Gossip, Implied/Referenced Sexual Harassment, M/M, No-one is allowed to trash-talk Pike's boyfriend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-24
Updated: 2019-04-24
Packaged: 2020-01-31 06:30:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18585682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Demerite/pseuds/Demerite
Summary: Ash Tyler is slowly learning that bad reputation or not, there are people who care about him here. Said people do not take kindly to junior officers' hateful comments about him.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'd love to take credit for the idea but once again [Aisha](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aishahiwatari/pseuds/aishahiwatari/) is responsible for the idea and a couple of the lines of dialogue in this. 
> 
> This is unrepentant crack with a little bit of the spicy stuff at the end because I can't help myself.

_Some people really don't know how to keep their mouths shut,_ Jnr. Lt. Lia Collins thinks to herself as she sips her tea. She's not a coffee drinker, but she's thinking she might need to be if she has to put up with any more of Gavin's bullshit. She's been unlucky enough to have him assigned as not only on the same shift as her, but as her roommate as well, meaning she practically never gets a moment's peace from his ramblings. They've held a tentative peace where possible, but she's been struggling to maintain it. He's loud, untidy, has a high opinion of himself, and is generally an unpleasant person to be around. Today, he's turned his attention and attitude on Specialist Tyler, and is loudly making his opinion known in damn near the middle of the Mess. 

"Look, all I'm saying is that he's hot, okay?" Gavin insists, holding too many people's attention for Lia's liking, "I mean, I'd totally hit that if I wasn't worried he's snap and kill me." 

Lia grits her teeth and doesn't say anything. She's an engineer working on the spore drive under Commander Stamets, same as Gavin, and _she knows better_ than to go mouthing off about something like that. 

A flash of silver uniform and light hair catches her eye, and she glances around to see Commander Stamets stalking from the Mess, tray left abandoned on a table where a few of the senior bridge crew are staring after him in confusion, clearly not aware of what he'd just overheard.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Lia mutters to herself. She's about to stand, to push away from the table and her half-eaten dinner, to snap and snarl at her moron of a roommate (and possibly smack him around the back of the head, lord knows she's been tempted enough times) when someone beats her to it. 

"Holy shit." She mutters to herself when she sees who has just crossed the Mess and is looming over Gavin. Well, maybe looming isn't the right word. Captain Pike doesn't have that sort of threatening presence, but Lia can clearly see that he's pissed off. She can't make out what Pike is saying, but she can gather from his posture and the expression on Gavin's face that it's not praise. 

"But sir, I'm a lieutenant!" She hears Gavin protest, and she has to bite her lip hard to keep the derisive snort behind her teeth. They're both _Junior Grade_ Lieutenants, but _she's_ never felt the need to remind anyone, especially not someone who _outranks_ her by lightyears, of that fact. 

"Yes Lieutenant, I did observe that." Captain Pike's voice is firm, an undercurrent of anger that Lia is honestly a little shocked to hear audible beneath the words themselves, "It's a skill you might want to work on developing. Read the room." Captain Pike all but snaps, and Gavin looks appropriately chastised. 

Captain Pike dismisses Gavin, who glances a little nervously around the room in search of support, but the crew members he was speaking to previously have all made themselves scarce. Lia drops her gaze to her plate before he can make eye contact with her, glancing back up through her eyelashes when she thinks he's looked away. He has, and finding no allies among the officers in the Mess, most of whom are either ignoring him or looking in his direction with outright hostility, Gavin leaves his tray on the table and stalks out, moving with a purpose that Lia _knows_ spells trouble. She groans and drains her tea glass. Well, so much for having a quiet evening. 

Lia catches up to Gavin in the corridor. 

"Where do you think you're going?" She asks, trying to go for light and playful, rather than accusatory, but she's pretty mad at him and she's sure some of her anger bleeds through. 

Gavin gives her a thunderous look, "I'm going to see Commander Saru." He says, a gleam in his eye that has _always_ meant that Lia should be anticipating headaches in her near future, "Pike's got me cleaning the sanitation system on the lower decks for the next _month_." He sounds deeply aggrieved, and Lia's first instinct is towards sympathy. Cleaning the sanitation systems is the closest thing to actual hell in her book; boring, repetitive, not to mention often disgusting work, but she's swiftly reminded of _why_ Gavin's been assigned it in the first place. 

“Well-," She beings, trying to find the line between gentle compassion and pragmatism. 

"And where were you?" Gavin cuts her off, whirling around to glare at her. "I noticed you were suspiciously quiet the whole time."

Before Lia can answer - and good thing too because she hadn't been sure she could hold in her anger anymore - they reach the turbolift and step inside. 

"Bridge, direct." Gavin orders. 

_"You do not have authorisation to access this area."_ The computer responds. 

Gavin mutters a frustrated curse, but before he can say anything else, Commander Burnham steps into the 'lift pod. She gives them a quick look, one brow moving slightly in reaction. 

"Bridge." She says, and the doors slide closed before Lia can step out again. 

The journey up to the Bridge is a short one, but all the same Lia feels like it takes a lifetime. She's never been up here before. She's seen it of course, in vids, but that's not the same as actually being here. She's under no illusions about serving on the Bridge, she's an engineer, and a tech at that, it's not as if she'll ever make it up here in a professional capacity, but she'd hoped that if she were ever to make it to the Bridge it wouldn't be in the company of her idiot roommate and almost friend who she just _knew_ was going to get his ass handed to him by _Discovery's_ First Officer, no matter how right he thought he was. 

Not to mention the fact that Commander Michael Burnham was standing _right next to her!_ Lia had seen the Commander a few times before, in Engineering, but this was the first time they'd been this close to one another. She desperately thought of things she could say to her, but she came up short, feeling far too starstruck to make conversation. Thank God she didn't have to report to Burnham directly, she thought, she'd never get anything done! 


	2. Chapter 2

The turbolift reaches the Bridge, and Burnham steps out in front of them, striding over to the science station and reliving the officer there. Gavin pushes past Lia, not quite shoving into her, but it's a near thing, and she sways a little to the side to let him pass, not really seeing him. Her gaze is fixed instead on the Bridge, the crew - mostly the secondary crew at this time of evening -, the stations, and beyond all that, space stretching out before them. She's seen the view from the observation deck a thousand times; she used to sit up there in her early days aboard _Discovery_ when the homesickness for her family's cargo freighter got too much, but this is so, _so_ much better. This view isn't here to be pretty, it's a view full of purpose, an unexplored galaxy just waiting for them. She's momentarily overwhelmed by it all, and comes back to herself to see Gavin striding confidently towards the conn where Commander Saru is sitting, and she scrambles to catch up to him in time to hear Gavin clear his breath and _actually address_ Commander Saru without first being spoken to. 

Lia cringes. Gavin's never been good on protocol, but addressing a Commander without being invited to speak? He should know better. Lia's pretty sure he _does_ know better, but he's either forgotten in his irritation, or just doesn't care

"Commander Saru, may I have a word?" Gavin asks. 

The Kelpien turns to look at him, making one of the soft clicking noises that Lia has heard him make before. She's never spoken to him in person, of course, but she's heard him on recordings and announcements. The sound now seems to bely irritation, and does the Commander's posture, but that could just be Lia's thinking. 

"Yes, Lieutenant Gavin?" Saru asks, tilting his head slightly in an expression that suggests curiosity. 

Gavin seems to draw himself up. Lia thinks briefly that she’d love to know where the hell he gets his confidence from. "I, uh, I need to report harassment from a superior officer." He says, and Lia fights the urge to flinch. He's not _seriously_ taking that route, is he? 

"Really?" Saru asks, but it doesn't sound like he's doubting what Gavin says, rather asking for more information, "And who might that officer be? Surely you know that such matters are best brought to Captain Pike?" 

"I'm afraid I can't do that sir." Gavin is already shaking his head, and Lia digs her nails into her palm behind her back, thinks _don’t say it, don’t say it, don’t say it,_ over and over again. 

"The officer in question _is_ Captain Pike." Gavin says. 

A hush falls over the Bridge.

Lia feels her cheeks burning, wishes she could just sink through the decking and vanish, even if it meant ending up in open space. Hell, give her an airlock and she'll blow herself out of it right now. _Anything_ to escape this. 

"Ah." Saru says, and his tone has changed. To Lia, it seems dangerous, "This is in regards to the comments you made about Specialist Tyler, is it not?" 

In her peripheral vision, Lia seems Commander Burnham go _very_ still at her station. _Oh fuck._ She knows, of course, that Burnham and Tyler were close, before. Before all the shitwith the Terran Universe. But then something had happened on the _ISS Shenzou,_ and there are still allegations that Tyler had been responsible for the newly resurrected and reinstated Dr. Culber's death - whispers and rumours mostly - but it appears there still some sort of a bond between the Burnham and Tyler, despite the current rumours circulating that something has been going on between _Pike_ and Tyler. Lia isn’t sure she believe said rumours for a moment. 

"Yes sir." Gavin is trying to keep an unpleasant note of superiority out of his voice, and failing, "Captain Pike's reaction to a comment he overheard from a private conversation with completely out of proportion. I believe the assignment he gave me is punishment simply for expressing my personal opinion, and that it is not a fair or reasonable reaction." 

Saru eyes Gavin cooly for a moment. "Well," he eventually says, "He _is_ the Captain." 

Gavin takes a breath, as if he is going to protest, and Saru holds up one graceful hand, "Please lieutenant, I allowed you to speak, now it is my turn." 

Lia bites her lip again, surprised that she hasn’t chewed a hole right through it yet. Gavin does _not_ like to be interrupted. She can see the irritation in his posture, but he controls it, remaining silent. For now. 

"As I was saying." Saru's tone is firm, "He is the Captain, and you insulted a member of his crew to whom he is…close.” 

Lia tries not to let her reaction show. The inflection in Saru's voice suggests that Tyler and Pike are more than 'close'. Does _Commander Saru_ know something they don't?

"What did you expect?" Saru asks Gavin, but continues speaking before he can answer, "That it was possible, if you attempted to undermine his authority by coming to me, he wouldn't find out? And you, Lieutenant Collins?" He turns on Lia with a fierce look in his eyes, and it takes all of Lia's strength, all her years of arguing with port officials and suppliers and spacers not to take a step back or flinch, "What do you think? Is the assignment fair?" 

Lia tries to answer, and at first her voice comes out as a strangled squeak, but she clears her throat.

"Lieutenant Gavin's words were insensitive, and offensive, as well as inappropriate, Sir." She says, as tactfully as she can, "And as you said, Captain Pike is in command of _Discovery_ , he has the right to choose - and change - crew assignments if he sees a need."

"Yes," Saru agrees, "But that is not what I asked." He gives her another long, evaluating look. "Do you believe the assignment is fair?" 

Lia takes a moment to think about her response. What Gavin had said was inappropriate, both for the sexual nature of the comment, and the way he had alluded to Dr. Culber's death, and it hadn't been in private conversation, it had been said loudly enough that at least a third of the Mess had heard. But Pike's reaction to assign him boring, unpleasant work, well that seemed to her like a snap decision, made out of anger. She caught herself. Was she really doubting a captain? Her captain? But Commander Saru had asked what _she_ believed, surely it wasn't mutiny to answer a question honestly, even if you believe that maybe your captain had done something wrong. 

"No, Sir, I don't." Lia says, and she tries valiantly to stop herself from shaking. She feels like her whole world is just slightly off centre, like she's about an inch out of alignment with her body. 

"No?" Saru asks, and there's that head-tilt again. 

_Oh no_ , Lia thinks, _I fucked up, didn't I?_ But she's made her decision, and now she needs to stick to it. 

"How can Lieutenant Gavin learn better behaviour if he spends his entire time cleaning the sanitation system and being resentful towards Captain Pike?" She casts her mind back to what her fathers had always said to her about punishment when her little brothers and sisters were running amok, "'There is no point in a punishment if he does not learn anything'." She quotes, and when she looks up at Commander Saru, it is to find him nodding. 

"I quite agree with you, Lieutenant Collins." He makes an expression that _looks_ like a smile, "Captain Pike has given Lieutenant Gavin an assignment, and therefore he must complete it, or submit the necessary paperwork requesting a change. However," He adds when she shoots him a questioning glance - if he wasn't going to accept her opinion why did he ask in the first place? - "I am going to suggest that in addition to completing this assignment, Lieutenant Gavin might review the Starfleet guidelines in regards to both sexual harassment and xenophobic behaviour and prepare a report on them, to demonstrate that he has understood them fully." 

Lia bites down hard on the inside of her cheek, trying to contain her glee. Gavin _hates_ academic work. He can do it, of course, it's not as if he's stupid, he's an engineer after all, but that's not to say he'd ever do it voluntarily. Lia can dimly remember him from the Academy, and mostly she recalls someone who never submitted work on time, getting by almost entirely due to his scores on practical tasks. 

Beside her, Gavin is rapidly becoming furious. She doesn't need to look at him to know how angry he's getting, but she does anyway, and she meets eyes that flash with rage, and a rapidly reddening face. Lia wants to flinch back, away from him, but she squashes the urge. He's not going to lash out at her, not here, on the bridge, in front of everyone, right? He's not going to push his luck that much. 

Commander Saru is giving her yet another searching look, "What do you think, Lieutenant Collins, do you think that is a more appropriate lesson?" 

"Yes sir." Lia nods decisively, managing to pretend that she's not totally freaking out. 

Commander Saru dismisses them both, and Gavin stalks back towards the turbolift, radiating anger. Lia follows him hesitantly, not sure if she feels safe in the confined space of the turbolift with her furious roommate at this stage. She's just wondering whether or not she can get away with asking permission to wait for the next 'lift, when Commander Nhan steps out from behind the security station. 

"Permission to leave the bridge?" She asks Commander Saru, who glances at her, then over at Lia and beyond her to Gavin. 

"I think that would be in order." He nods. 

Commander Nhan strides across to stand beside Lia and Gavin, giving Lia a small smile before her gaze settles on Gavin, watching him carefully. Lia is so fiercely grateful in that moment for the other woman that she could cry. The turbolift arrives, and Gavin stalks into it. He's not doing anything as immature as stamping his feet or pouting, but that's the distinct impression he gives off all the same. _Like a sulky toddler._ Lia thinks, and has to bite down on the amusement before a smile can make its way onto her face. 

They descend in silence, although the artificial gravity of the ship means that direction is relative, of course. Lia clasps her hands behind her back and stares at the wall in front of her. Gavin had requested the deck their quarters are on, and Lia's determined to go _anywhere_ but there. 

The 'lift stops at their deck, and Gavin slopes out without a backwards glance. Nhan doesn't move, and neither does Lia. The doors close again. 

"Your bunk-mate is not a nice man." Nhan says, and Lia can't help but let out a quick, bitter laugh. 

She smothers it quickly, because it's not dignified to laugh in front of a superior officer, even if they _had_ just made the understatement of the millennium. "Yes Commander." She says instead, "I'm learning that." 

Nhan gives her a look that Lia interprets as a raised eyebrow, although of course Nhan is Barzan, and doesn't _have_ eyebrows. "Have you considered applying for a new one?" 

Lia sighs, "Maybe I should." She admits. 


	3. Chapter 3

Two days later, Lia is settling into her new bunk nicely. She doesn't have a roommate at the moment, which is a little bit lonely, but she has a plan to deal with that. She just needs some backup from someone on the medical staff to get it to work. 

"I can't help you, Lieutenant." Dr. Culber says when she asks him. He clearly sees the flash of confusion and hurt on her face, because he puts a placating hand on her forearm. "I'd like to,” He explains, "But only someone with psych training can sign off on that form." He gives her an apologetic smile. 

"And _Discovery_ currently doesn't have any psych staff." Lia says with a sigh. 

"Well," Doctor Culber starts, speculatively, "There is always Admiral Cornwell." 

At her look of confusion, he explains, "She's a trained psychiatrist, you know." 

"I didn't." Lia says. There's _no way_ she can go talk to _Admiral Katrina Cornwell_ about her stupid request for a roommate because she's been surrounded by people her entire life and not having someone sharing her room is already driving her completely nuts. She'd almost even take Gavin back as a roommate, if she was sure he wasn't absolutely furious with her at the moment. 

"She helped me a lot, after..." Culber doesn't finish the sentence, and Lia has heard enough of the rumours about what exactly happened to him to bring him back from the dead that she knows that's what he's talking about. "I think she'd be able to help you, even if it's just signing a form." 

"It's kind of stupid though." Lia admits, hunching her shoulders in her uniform jacket. 

Doctor Culber fixes her with a firm, but slightly terrifying look. "It's not stupid." He tells her, and he says it with so much conviction that she can't help but believe it, "There's nothing wrong with hating the silence." 

Lia takes a steadying breath. "Okay." She says softly, "I'll ask her." She doesn't ask how Culber knows about what the silence can be like, or why he knows to hate it.

* 

Lia only takes a few hours of deliberation, sitting in her too big and too empty quarters, before she makes up her mind, tugs her boots and jacket back on, and heads back out into the corridors. She has to ask the computer where she's going, but once she knows what direction she's headed in, she's fine. Admiral Cornwell is staying in guest quarters a little removed from the rest of them, and Lia doesn't blame her. She'd probably want to be left alone too. 

It takes almost all of her courage to press the door chime to request access, but when she does she's summoned inside almost at once by the calm, confident voice she knows belongs to Admiral Cornwell. 

The Admiral is seated behind a desk when Lia enters the room, and she looks up and offers her a friendly smile. "Lieutenant Collins, right?" She asks, and Lia nods, clutching her PADD with the necessary form on it so tightly that she feels her knuckles go white. 

"Yes Admiral." She says, trying to keep the tremor out of her voice. 

Admiral Cornwell lets out a low laugh, as if she's amused by the formality, "Doctor Culber said I might be seeing you soon." She admits, standing from behind her desk and moving around it, "I hear you've got a form for me?" 

"Uh, yes Admiral." Lia holds out the PADD, "It's uh, a little unorthodox, I know, but I'm actually requesting to _have_ a roommate, rather than to _not_ have one." 

Admiral Cornwell takes the PADD and gives her a curious look, like she wants Lia to go on, so Lia does. 

"It's just, I come from a _really_ big family, I have heaps of brothers and sisters and there always always someone around no matter what and then I went straight to the Academy and then I've always had roommates here so having a whole room to myself just feels _wrong_ and I haven't been sleeping properly." She stops, and takes a deep breath, only to notice that Admiral Cornwell is smiling, a real, warm smile they reaches all the way to her eyes. 

“Well, that explains why you've listened 'no-one' as your current roommate." She says, scrolling quickly through the form, "But I can't see any reason to delay this." 

Admiral Cornwell signs the form quickly, and hands the PADD back to Lia. "You know, it could still be a few weeks before you get a new roommate." She says, and there's a gentleness in her voice. 

"I know." Lia says, because she does, and it _sucks,_ but the sooner she gets the paperwork done the sooner she's on the list, and the sooner she'll get a roommate. She can tough it out in the meantime. It already feels so much easier now she knows the paperwork is signed. 

"Well, if you ever need someone to talk to-" Admiral Cornwell starts, and Lia is somewhere in the middle of thinking _holy shit she's not actually offering to listen to me if I'm having problems is she?_ when the door chime goes off again. "One moment." Admiral Cornwell says to Lia, and Lia nods because hey, whoever is outside of the door at this time of night probably has a _real_ emergency, or at least considerably outranks her.

She wrong on both counts, it turns out. Standing on the outside of the doorway, the very picture of seething rage, is Lt. Gavin. Lia startles, really hoping that he's not following her since she transferred out of their room, after all, she hadn't warned him she was going to do it, and her request had been approved immediately on safety grounds because of how angry he'd been at her over the whole indecent on the bridge, and he's been posted to the lower decks so they haven't seen each other since she packed her bags and moved out. 

"Lieutenant Gavin." Admiral Cornwell says, in a tone of voice that is carefully neutral, devoid of a lot of the warmth Lia had been greeted with. 

"Admiral." Gavin says, and he's panting, as if he's out of breath from running. His cheeks are bright pink, so Lia supposes it's a possibility, "I'm sorry to bother you but I need approval from someone with psych training on this transfer form and Doctor Culber said you were the only person on the ship with training." He thrusts a PADD towards her before he's even finished speaking. 

Lia resists the urge to put her head in her hands with embarrassment. It takes more effort than she'd thought it wold. 

"I see." Admiral Cornwell says, in a tone that suggests she does indeed see, and Gavin won't be pleased with _what_ she sees. She scrolls through the form. "This is a request for a change of assignment, Lieutenant." 

"Yes Ma'am." He says. 

"And you've listed 'unreasonable decision by commanding officer' as your reason?" 

Lia can hear the decreasing patience in Admiral Cornwell's voice, and she squeezes her eyes shut for a moment and wishes she were someplace else once more. Her former roommate seems to have that affect on people. 

"Yes." Gavin says, and he draws breath to launch into what Lia is positive will be a spectacular tirade, but Admiral Cornwell speaks over him. 

"You're kidding me, right?" She asks. 

"No Ma'am." Gavin says, shaking his head. Admiral Cornwell makes a noise that might be a derisive laugh. That's certainly what it sounds like to Lia. 

"I'm not going to sign this, Lieutenant." She says firmly. She hands the PADD back to him, and fixes his with a steady gaze, "And you might want to consider your future in Starfleet if this is your reaction every time you're given an order you don't like." 

Gavin's eyes are very wide, like he can't believe what she's just said to him. 

Admiral Cornwell glares at him, "Dismissed." she says firmly, and Gavin all but flees the room at a run. 

"Well, I can see why you didn't want to share a room with him." Admiral Cornwell says dryly, and Lia can't suppress the sudden, shocked laugh. She claps her hand over her mouth immediately to stifle it, but Admiral Cornwell doesn't seem terribly upset, laughing along with her for a moment, before collecting herself. "Was there anything else you need Lieutenant?" She asks. 

"No Ma'am." Lia hugs the PADD to her chest, “Thank you for this." She tries to keep the grin off her face as Admiral Cornwell dismisses her and wishes her a good night. 

She's practically bouncing as she walks down the corridor, PADD held tight. She's going to put in the application the _moment_ she gets back to her room. She's going to have a roommate again! 

"Hey!" 

Lia grits her teeth at the voice that calls out from behind her. She'd been so absorbed in her thoughts that she hadn't realised she'd walked straight past Gavin, who had been lurking in a crossway, waiting. Waiting for _her._

"Hi." Lia says, careful not to get too close to him. He's seemed unstable since his outburst in the Mess - and then on the bridge and _then_ just now her brain points out. 

"Why'd you switch bunks?" Gavin asks, and Lia cringes. She'd really hoped she'd be able to get by without this conversation. 

"Because of what you said about Specialist Tyler." She says firmly. "It was hateful and unnecessary, _especially_ in front of Commander Stamets." 

"It's the truth though." Gavin's voice has taken on that placating, almost wheedling tone that Lia absolutely loathes. 

"And then the way you acted when you were given that assignment as punishment." Lia drags a hand through her short, tight curls, "I don't want to have anything to do with someone who defies orders and talks back to their superior officers like that." 

"Even if it's in defence of what's right?" 

"Except you _weren't_ right, don't you see?" Lia wants the shout in frustration, but she keeps her voice level. If she loses her temper at him there's a good chance she'll start to cry, and she doesn't want that. 

"I wasn't- Lia do you even _hear_ yourself?" Gavin takes a step forward, and Lia instinctively puts her hands up, letting the PADD clatter to the floor beside her. 

She's about to tell him to back off, to leave her alone, but the words stick in her throat and before she can get them un-stuck again, there are heavy footfalls behind her, and she's aware of a tall, almost looming presence at her side, and then in front of her. 

"Is there a problem here?" Specialist Tyler asks, and Lia wants to laugh with relief, and at the irony of the whole situation. 

"No." Gavin says sullenly, because he's stupid, but not stupid enough to take on Tyler, who is taller, broader, and stronger than he is. 

"Good." Tyler says, and Gavin stalks away, emanating quiet fury until he's out of sight. 

Lia scrambles for her PADD the moment he's out of sight. 

"Are you alright?" Tyler asks her. 

"Yeah." She nods, "Thank-you." She adds, because she doesn't really know what else to say.


	4. Chapter 4

Ash offers to walk the engineer back to her quarters, but she thanks him for the assist and declines, so he wanders the corridors for a little while, keeping an eye out for Gavin in case he decides to double back and bother her again, but he sees no sign of the lieutenant. _Lurking,_ is how Pike would probably describe what he's doing, but that's fine. He has a reputation to keep up after all.

Once he's fairly sure that Gavin won't bother anyone else tonight he turns towards the turbolift and heads to the Bridge. 

Saru gives him a curious look as he steps out of the 'lift, but gestures him to go ahead when Ash waves the PADD he's carrying in the direction of the Ready Room door, probably assuming that he needs to deliver an important report to the captain. The PADD is completely blank, but Saru doesn't need to know that. 

When the Ready Room door opens Pike looks up at him with a slightly weary smile, and activates the privacy subroutine that will block all noise and access in or out until deactivated. 

"Hey." Pike - Chris, Ash reminds himself, he's allowed to call him Chris when it's just the two of them - says. 

"Hey." Ash replies, crossing the room quietly. Chris meets him halfway, tugging him into a hard kiss with one hand in his hair. For all the force behind it, it's a joyful kiss. They don't get a lot of time, clandestine meetings between shifts and late in the night, sneaking around empty corridors and back to quarters before anyone is awake to see them. Ironically, for all its proximity to the bridge, the Ready Room is the best place; its privacy subroutines, audio shielding and locks that can't be overridden making it totally soundproof and safe. Ash would also be lying if he says he hasn't thought about how close they are to the rest of the crew at least once during sex and found it oddly thrilling. 

Chris walks them back towards the low couch along the side of the room and Ash lets him, not breaking the kiss until he accidentally walks into the low table there, so focused on the man in front of him he's not concentrating on what's behind. He mutters a muffled curse, and Chris backs off immediately, until he sees Ash's swearing is directed at the furniture, and not at him. He's always been like that, a little cautious, like he's worried he's going to hurt Ash somehow. 

He's not going to, but Ash appreciates it all the same. It's not something he's used to. 

They sprawl onto the couch in a disorganised tangle of limbs. Ash ends up leaning against the arm, and when Chris insinuates himself into his lap Ash doesn't object. It's nice, it doesn't feel like he's trapped there, even if Chris’ weight is pressing him into the cushions, he knows he could get up and move away, put some distance between them at any moment if he needs to. He doesn't need, or want to, though. 

They just stay there for a little while, kissing lazily and enjoying each others proximity. It's not something they've _talked_ about, whatever it is that they're doing; as if talking about it means admitting that this is possibly more than just casual sex, that both of them are more invested in whatever this is. Giving it a name means that it's real, and Ash isn't sure if he's ready to deal with that just yet.

Eventually, Chris pulls back from kissing to give Ash an assessing look. 

"Am I going to be fielding complaints from a certain lieutenant about intra-crew harassment?" He asks, and Ash sighs. 

"I didn't even touch him." He promises, "I didn't need to." 

"That's ominous." Chris says, but it's with a twist of a smile, which takes any insult out of the words. 

"You know," Ash shifts a little, and Chris moves with him, "I don't need you to defend my honour. What Gavin said...wasn't inaccurate." It's the first chance they've really had to discuss the whole issue. 

"It wasn't appropriate, either." Chris points out, sitting back a little to look into Ash's eyes, "I won't have that sort of talk onboard. About _anyone._ " 

Ash smiles, a little sadly. In some ways, it's a relief to know that he isn't being treated as a special case. And its kind of amusing to him that Chris is genuinely just _that good_ that he doesn't want anyone badmouthing anyone else, even if - in Ash's opinion - it's true, and probably entirely deserved. But still, people are already talking, they always are, and this has only made them talk more. He’s heard speculation about the two of them from _multiple_ sources over the last few days, and some of them have been worrying close to the truth. 

He voices this concern to Chris, who shrugs. 

"We're not breaking any regulations." He points out, "We're not chain of command." 

Ash knows this. He and Chris are so far beyond chain of command it's not even funny; even if Ash does technically have to take orders from him. Section 31 and Starfleet Command Division are so far from each other as to be like night and day on separate planets. 

"I know." Ash says, and he's going to leave it at that, but his traitorous mouth speaks before he can think it and not say it, "But people are still talking." 

"Let them." Chris says, "Even if it does make its way back to Command and _even if_ they take it seriously it's not as if they can do anything." 

"That's not what I'm worried about." Ash says darkly. He hadn't meant to, but now that he's started down this path there's a part of him that demands he see it through to completion. 

"Then what?" Chris asks, and there's a low rumble of irritation in his voice now. 

Ash doesn't know how to articulate it without coming off self-pitying, so he just sighs and goes for it. "Look," He says, "You know what sort of reputation I have." He drags a hand through his hair, "Even if it's not against regs, there's nothing to stop Command doing something simply because they don't like the _idea_ of it." 

"This isn't Section 31." Chris says, "There are _rules_ here." He says it with such conviction that Ash wants to kiss him, even though he's still sort of mad at him too. Kissing wins out over anger, and Chris lets out a surprised breath as Ash pushes him backwards into the couch cushions, leaning over to cover Chris' body with his own and kiss him until they’re both breathless with it, hands roaming over each other, finding ways beneath uniforms, quick and practiced. 

"This conversation isn't over." Ash says as Chris gets a hand in his pants. 

"If you say so." Chris mumbles, clearly only half-listening to what he's saying. 

**Author's Note:**

> Disputatio Quisquiliae is apparently Latin for 'trash talk'. 
> 
> Come talk to me on [Tumblr](https://demerite.tumblr.com/).


End file.
